Discussion: Batting Tee

taking swings is never bad for you.what you'll need to do tho is get some live bp in also for your timing.i do tee work all year long,it is great for your mechanics..i use a 16" ball also for follow thru.you can sub in a deflated(about 1/2-2/3 full) basketball,volleyball,soccer ball also.

I don't have much of an opportunity to hit live BP so I hit a lot off the tee. I always try to hit on a field with a 300 ft fence. This gives me reference. You can work on your mechanics without any pressure. You can test different grips, different types of swings, and other mechanics. The fence will tell you if you are getting the results you're looking for.

It's also a good way to work out. Hitting a couple of buckets of balls with everything you have will definitely increase your strength.

If you can it is fine, I suppose, but don't worry about hitting outside or on a full-size field. It is about mechanics, about the process, and not necessarily about immediate results. So if all you can do is hit into netting or even a blanket you hang/suspend from the rafters of your garage that is fine. You will know when the swing was good and the contact was solid without needing to see the ball travel outdoors.

And don't worry about using tee work to build strength, the endurance you might gain is not the kind of strength you need to hit a ball anyway. What will typically happen is the more swings you are taking, the more fatigue will set in (common sense), the more risk you run that your swing will change probably without you even realizing it, and the more risk you will run of developing bad habits because of that.

how can it not increase your strength ???? i use it as a workout all year long.i do the mike macenko light bat/heavy bat drill off a tee to increase,or keep my bat speed up.i use the 16" balls for powering thru a ball(use a light bat)to get a good and complete follow thru.how is all of this not strengthening yourself.along with all of this i use a game weight bat for mechanics,which all can be used to strengthen yourself.....
as far as getting tired and getting bad mechanics,well maybe you do.i do 10-15 swings per drill,take a minute to rest and go back at it,if ya can't do at least 5 rounds(10-15 swings each) then maybe you should be looking into a fitness program.hell most of us do 25 swings for a bp round with 2-3 rounds,rotating thru them.

using a full size field also lets you know how much improvement your getting,if your new to tee work,aka length of flight(line drives and long flys) of the ball,hardness thru the inf of ground balls,etc.
yes i do both,in the a cage and full field.

I agree the full field will give you feedback on how far the ball is traveling, and that can be good. But it is not essential was my point. I knew a ton of boys who did a ton of tee work during my son's time playing hardball in high school and college, and none ever did it outdoors. So outdoors is fine, as long as you don't alter your swing just to add distance and screw up the real idea of working on mechanics, but not essential.

Strength can be looked at a couple of ways, quick explosiveness and endurance. The explosiveness is what you are looking for when hitting, batting is not an endurance event. I suppose anything you do will not hurt strength, but long BP sessions will not really do anything for it.

I do like the idea of hitting the 16" ball. I definitely can see how that would help you push through the point of impact and maintain your bat speed through contact.

Thanks for the feedback on hitting off the tee.
When you talk about strength I'm down with that. I workout first then stop off at the field and hit 2 round of ball. I have been doing this for the last 4 year. This has help me very much.

If you decide to change your grip (ie..overlap)...Tee work will build up your forearm and grip strength. Took me approx. 6 months and I have never change my grip...results have been tremendous. Aloha, Fabe

For the last 2 years I change to a overlap grip. I did it while doing tee work. Since going to the overlap I have been getting better distance. When I do try to hit the old way (baseball grip) I can't get out of the infield. I also do a lot of video of me hitting to see with I need to work on. This will be a first year playing Senior Ball. A team from Montgomery AL ask me to play with them for the 2012 season. Tee Work video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCHdrBhqq50&feature=feedu

rfsoftball........looks like you're hitting the ball well. Check out
http://www.swingmechanics.com/. I learned a few things using his techniques when I began the overlap grip years ago. Good luck in senior ball.

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